Tag: Rashad Weaver

Titans’ biggest cut candidates for 2024 offseason

A look at some potential cap casualties for the Titans in 2024.

The Tennessee Titans enter the 2024 offseason flush with cap space, but they will have an opportunity to clear more money if they decide to cut some players from last year’s team.

According to Over the Cap, the Titans are sitting with $68.1 million in cap space, the second-most in the NFL behind only the Washington Commanders.

That’s a far cry from last year, when the Titans were strapped for cash, even after cutting some players. That also forced Tennessee to bet on upside with some of their free-agent signings.

But things are very different this year with the Titans having a ton of money to spend. And, as a result, their need to cut players isn’t as dire as it was last year, although the team still figures to part ways with at least a few players.

Here’s a look at the Titans’ biggest cut candidates for the 2024 offseason, and we’ve included a prediction for what will happen with each.

Titans training camp preview at OLB: Locks, competitions, 53-man prediction

The Titans are set to welcome back Harold Landry in 2023 after he missed all of last season with a torn ACL.

Here we are once again previewing a Tennessee Titans position ahead of training camp, which will begin next week. This time around, we’re taking a look at the outside linebacker position.

Tennessee saw a significant change at the position this offseason, with the team jettisoning Bud Dupree after a failed two-year stint in Nashville.

Replacing Dupree on the Titans’ roster is former San Francisco 49ers and Jacksonville Jaguars edge rusher, Arden Key, who figures to play the biggest role of his career in Tennessee.

But Key’s addition is hardly the biggest news of the offseason at outside linebacker, as Tennessee’s sack leader from 2021, Harold Landry, is set to return after missing all of last season with a torn ACL.

Beyond those two is Rashad Weaver, and after him are completely unproven players. We’ll go over everyone on the current depth chart, while also taking a look at the roster locks, competitions, and a 53-man roster projection.

Analyst Brian Baldinger ‘looking for big stuff’ from Titans’ Rashad Weaver in 2023

Titans OLB Rashad Weaver got some love from NFL Network’s Brian Baldinger recently.

Despite having a solid sophomore season, Tennessee Titans third-year pass rusher, Rashad Weaver, is largely flying under the radar as we inch closer to the 2023 season.

The Pittsburgh product was ultimately forced into a bigger role last year due to Harold Landry’s unfortunate knee injury right before the 2022 campaign began.

While his performance wasn’t perfect by any means and his sack production tapered off in the second half of the season, Weaver undoubtedly showed plenty of promise whenever he was on the field.

The former fourth-round pick totaled 27 tackles, 22 pressures, 15 quarterback hits, seven tackles for loss, six pass deflections, 5.5 sacks, two forced fumbles, and one fumble recovery.

One of Weaver’s biggest believers in the national media appears to be NFL Network’s Brian Baldinger, who is known for his fantastic film breakdowns throughout the year.

Baldinger recently released a video on Weaver’s potential, saying he’s “looking for big stuff from Rashad Weaver this year.”

The NFL Network analyst also expects Weaver, who is projected to be the No. 3 outside linebacker behind Harold Landry and Arden Key, to keep getting better the more he works on his hand usage and footwork.

You can find “Baldy’s Breakdown” of the Titans edge rusher in its entirety below:

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Madden NFL 24 ratings for Titans’ D-linemen, OLBs

The “Madden NFL 24” overall ratings for Jeffery Simmons, Harold Landry, and other Titans defensive linemen and outside linebackers.

The next step in the player ratings rollout from “Madden NFL 24” was to reveal the marks for defensive linemen and outside linebackers, giving us our first look at how players at those positions for the Tennessee Titans fared.

Of the defensive linemen and outside linebackers, only one Titans player was ranked in the top 10 at his position: defensive lineman Jeffery Simmons.

Simmons, who was listed as a defensive end on the game’s official website, was ranked eighth among DEs with an overall rating of 89. However, if you include defensive tackles, also, he was 12th, which is far too low.

In total, the Titans had three players combined from the defensive line and outside linebacker groups to score over an 80. Here’s a look at how every Titans player from those positions fared in overall rating.

And, in case you missed it. you can check out the ratings for Titans receivers and safeties right here.

Simple assault charge against Titans’ Rashad Weaver dropped

The simple assault charge against Titans OLB Rashad Weaver has been dropped.

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After facing a simple assault charge stemming from an alleged incident prior to his being drafted by the Tennessee Titans in 2021, outside linebacker Rashad Weaver is in the clear.

According to Titans beat writer Paul Kuharsky, the prosecution will not move forward with the case and has dropped the charge against Weaver, which should also put him in the clear in terms of facing a suspension.

The simple assault charge that hovered over Rashad Weaver from an incident just before the Titans drafted him in 2021 was concluded in late June, when the Allegheny Country District attorney’s office determined it was unwilling to move ahead with its prosecution and judge Anthony M. Mariani signed off.

At one point jury instructions were scheduled for this week.

The charge came from an alleged incident outside of a Pittsburgh bar on April 18, 2021, where the alleged victim, Demetria Navjelis, claimed the Titans outside linebacker “grabbed her by the throat and pushed her to the ground, where she ultimately hit her head.”

After an injury-shortened rookie campaign, Weaver tallied 5.5 sacks in 16 games (four starts) in 2022. He figures to be third on the depth chart behind Harold Landry and Arden Key in 2023.

Weaver wasn’t the only Titans player facing a legal issue, as Titans running back Hassan Haskins was arrested and charged with aggravated assault by strangulation last month. That case is set to go to trial in late August.

Titans’ Rashad Weaver details vigorous offseason regimen: ‘I can feel the difference’

After putting in the work this offseason, Titans OLB Rashad Weaver can feel the difference in himself from where he was last season.

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Tennessee Titans outside linebacker Rashad Weaver took a few weeks to rest his body after the 2022 campaign, but after that it was right to work in preparation for the 2023 season.

Weaver says he went into “hibernation mode” for two weeks after the Titans’ season ended in Week 18, which entailed him getting a ton of sleep to help his body recover.

From there, it was on.

Weaver hooked up with “Monster Maker” trainers and worked on getting bigger and stronger via a vigorous offseason regimen that included three-hour stints in the weight room.

On his off days (if you want to call them that), Weaver did 50-yard sprints up hills to work on his speed, leg strength and drive.

And it appears all that hard work has paid off thus far, with Weaver noting how much of a difference he feels in himself from where he was last year.

“[Weaver’s offseason regimen] entails workouts for three hours in the weight room, where you lay on the ground and say: ‘I hate this’ every day,” Weaver explained, per Jim Wyatt of Titans Online. “And on the off days you go run hills, 50-yard sprints up the hills that’s working your speed and your leg strength and your drive.

“But I know it’s working, because I can feel the difference. And, the easiest way to know something is working is when you see the difference or other people see the difference in you and they make remarks about you.

“For someone like me, it just makes me want to keep going.”

Another part of his offseason work was watching film of himself and taking notes.

Among the things Weaver noticed was his lower-body strength wasn’t where he wanted it to be, something he partly blames on leg injuries suffered in recent years, one of which occurred during his rookie campaign.

Now, Weaver feels he’s added enough strength in that area, also, to better “bully guys” at the point of contact.

“The biggest thing for me (to focus on) was strength, and that’s where I put a lot of work in this offseason,” he said. “I’d never been a huge weight room guy, but coming off leg injuries in the past, those are things that knock your leg strength back.

“So now I can go out here and really bully guys and have play strength and play through contact and finish a lot of things that were really just right there last year, and really be better overall. … These are grown men out there.”

Even with the shortcomings Weaver detailed, he did show flashes of being an impact pass-rusher in his second season, with the Pittsburgh product tallying five sacks over the first 10 weeks before being shut out the rest of the way.

Looking ahead to 2023, Weaver figures to be third on the depth chart behind Harold Landry and Arden Key, but he should still have a sizeable role as a rotational piece who can play standing up and with his hand in the dirt.

And, if his offseason work proves to really pay dividends through his play on the field, Weaver could earn himself an even bigger role as the season progresses.

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Photos, video from Titans’ first week of offseason program

The Titans have released some photos and a video of players working out during the first week of the offseason program.

The Tennessee Titans began their offseason workout program this week, and in turn the team provided some photos and video of players getting back into the swing of things.

From those photos, we learned that quarterback Ryan Tannehill, whose future with the team is murky ahead of 2023, was indeed in attendance to start the voluntary portion of the offseason program.

However, we also learned via linebacker Azeez Al-Shaair that safety Kevin Byard, who refused to take a pay cut this offseason and is reportedly at a “crossroads” with the team, did not.

Of course, these workouts are voluntary and neither Byard nor anyone else on the team is required to be there until mandatory minicamp in June, but it’s worth noting Byard was in attendance on Day 1 last year.

Now, a look at the photos and video the team provided from the first week of the voluntary portion of the offseason program.

Titans offseason preview at OLB: More questions than answers

In our latest offseason preview, we take a look at the Titans’ outside linebacker position.

The Tennessee Titans have more questions than answers when it comes to their outside linebacker position going into the 2023 campaign.

Tennessee was riddled with injuries at the position last year. Harold Landry missed the entire season with a torn ACL, and Bud Dupree missed six games and exited multiple others early in what was another injury-plagued year for him.

The injuries to Dupree and Landry allowed 2021 fourth-round pick Rashad Weaver, who missed the entirety of his rookie campaign due to injury, to see extended playing time.

But after a hot start to the season with four sacks in four games, Weaver cooled off the rest of the way, tallying 1.5 sacks in the final 13 games.

In our latest offseason preview for the Titans, we take a look at the outside linebackers who are under contract, pending free agents, and then we’ll talk about what the team might do at the position in 2023.

Titans’ top-five moments from the 2022 season

The Titans recently revealed their top-five moments of the 2022 season.

The Tennessee Titans had a season to forget in 2022 after losing their last seven games en route to losing the division to the Jacksonville Jaguars, but there were still some memorable moments along the way.

Recently, the Titans revealed what they believe were the top-five moments of their 2022 season. Leading the list was the team’s new stadium project announcement, which came in October.

Running back Derrick Henry makes a pair of appearances on the list, with his setting the franchise touchdown record being one of them. Safety Kevin Byard’s record-setting interception made the cut as well.

Last but certainly not least, also appearing on the list is 2021 fourth-round pick and outside linebacker Rashad Weaver, who recovered a fumble on the outlined “3” on the field in the wake of Buffalo Bills safety and his former Pitt teammate, Damar Hamlin, suffering cardiac arrest.

Do you agree with this top five? Or is there another moment not listed here that you think should’ve made the cut? Let us know in the comments below.

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Titans OLB Rashad Weaver’s trial date pushed back again

The trial date for Titans OLB Rashad Weaver has been pushed back again.

Tennessee Titans outside linebacker Rashad Weaver was supposed to begin a jury trial for a simple assault charge he picked in April of 2021 on Tuesday, but the date for the trial has been pushed back yet again.

According to Titans beat writer Paul Kuharsky, the trial date has been pushed back to May 16, with a status hearing set for April 12. He was originally set for trial last August before it was pushed to January.

Weaver’s simple assault charge stems from an alleged April 18, 2021 incident in which a woman, Demetria Navjelis, claims Weaver “grabbed her by the throat and pushed her to the ground, where she ultimately hit her head.”

Weaver was drafted by the Titans less than two weeks after the alleged incident. News of it broke just days after he was selected by Tennessee.

If found guilty, the charge carries a maximum sentence of no more than two years, but chances are Weaver would receive probation. He could also face discipline from the league.

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